Redcore ( zh, s=红芯浏览器, l=red core browser)Official website: , where it shows that the browser is named "Redcore Browser" ( zh, 红芯浏览器), and the browser engine is "Redcore" ( zh, 红芯内核) is a

web browser A web browser is application software for accessing websites. When a user requests a web page from a particular website, the browser retrieves its files from a web server and then displays the page on the user's screen. Browsers are used o ...

developed by Chinese company Redcore Times (Beijing) Technology Ltd.. Redcore is based on

Chromium Chromium is a chemical element with the symbol Cr and atomic number 24. It is the first element in group 6. It is a steely-grey, lustrous, hard, and brittle transition metal. Chromium metal is valued for its high corrosion resistance and hard ...

and uses the

Blink Blinking is a bodily function; it is a semi-autonomic rapid closing of the eyelid. A single blink is determined by the forceful closing of the eyelid or inactivation of the levator palpebrae superioris and the activation of the palpebral portio ...

browser engine A browser engine ( also known as a layout engine or rendering engine) is a core software component of every major web browser. The primary job of a browser engine is to transform HTML documents and other resources of a web page into an interacti ...

. The company previously claimed Redcore used a new browser engine that was developed in-house. In August 2018,

social media Social media are interactive media technologies that facilitate the creation and sharing of information, ideas, interests, and other forms of expression through virtual communities and networks. While challenges to the definition of ''social me ...

users revealed that Redcore's internals were substantially similar to those of

Google Chrome Google Chrome is a cross-platform web browser developed by Google. It was first released in 2008 for Microsoft Windows, built with free software components from Apple WebKit and Mozilla Firefox. Versions were later released for Linux, macOS, ...

History

On 15 August 2018, Redcore Times (Beijing) Technology Ltd. announced that it had raised 250 million

RMB The renminbi (; symbol: ¥; ISO code: CNY; abbreviation: RMB) is the official currency of the People's Republic of China and one of the world's most traded currencies, ranking as the fifth most traded currency in the world as of April 2022. ...

in its series C funding round from venture capital investors, including Morningside Venture Capital ( zh, 晨兴资本), Fortune Venture Capital ( zh, 达晨创投), and

IDG Capital Founded in Boston in 1992, IDG Capital is an investment and asset management firm that specializes in venture capital, private equity, and mergers & acquisitions. The firm currently has offices in fifteen cities around the world, including New York ...

. At the time of financing, the company marketed Redcore as a "100pc China-developed browser" and claimed that it used the "Redcore"

. On 16 August 2018, after Redcore was revealed to be based on

, Redcore Times (Beijing) Technology Ltd. responded that the project did not solicit state funds in its previous round of funding.

Chromium plagiarism scandal

On 16 August 2018, Chinese

users disclosed that the Redcore

installer Installation (or setup) of a computer program (including device drivers and plugins), is the act of making the program ready for execution. Installation refers to the particular configuration of a software or hardware with a view to making it us ...

, when fully decompressed, contained similar files and directories as the installer for

. After the disclosure, media outlets including

Sina Sina may refer to: Relating to China * Chin (China), or Sina (), old Chinese form of the Sanskrit name Cina () ** Shina (word), or Sina ( ja, 支那, links=no), archaic Japanese word for China ** Sinae, Latin name for China Places * Sina, Al ...

accused Redcore of

plagiarism Plagiarism is the fraudulent representation of another person's language, thoughts, ideas, or expressions as one's own original work.From the 1995 '' Random House Compact Unabridged Dictionary'': use or close imitation of the language and though ...

and criticized the company for marketing a " Chrome-shell browser" ( zh, Chrome套壳浏览器) as a domestic product developed completely in-house. Chen Benfeng, the

CEO A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a central executive officer (CEO), chief administrator officer (CAO) or just chief executive (CE), is one of a number of corporate executives charged with the management of an organization especially ...

of Redcore Times (Beijing) Technology Ltd., defended the product by describing three additional features of Redcore that were not present in

. By the end of 16 August, Redcore was no longer available for download from the company's website. Company co-founder Gao Jing told the

China News Service China News Service (CNS; ) is the second largest state news agency in China, after Xinhua News Agency. China News Service was formerly run by the Overseas Chinese Affairs Office, which was absorbed into the United Front Work Department of the ...

that although the web browser is based on the open-source resources from Chrome, "it still uses domestic core technology and has other innovative elements". Gao said the browser was removed from the company's website to conduct "urgent technology checks". On 17 August 2018, Redcore Times (Beijing) Technology Ltd. issued an apology announcement disclosing that Redcore is a browser engine based on

.{{cite web, url=http://www.bjnews.com.cn/finance/2018/08/17/499920.html, title=红芯浏览器致歉：宣传夸大不应特别强调国产自主, website=新京报网, date=2018-08-17, access-date=2018-08-17, language=zh-hans, url-status=live, archive-date=2018-08-17, archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180817084456/http://www.bjnews.com.cn/finance/2018/08/17/499920.html

References

Cross-platform web browsers Windows web browsers Linux web browsers Freeware 2018 software 2018 in China Hoaxes in China Internet hoaxes

History

Chromium plagiarism scandal

See also

References